Hello, there. I’m Darren, and this is a collection of stuff I’ve written over the years, mainly about music but there’s some other stuff too, such as film, TV and merch. You’ll also find the odd bit of promo for videos and music I’ve made. Thanks for dropping by.
Say the word ‘fanzine’ to a lot of people and they probably think of a few sheets of A5 held together with attitude and, if you’re lucky, a couple of staples. Which is why I’m hesitant about describing Simian Scrolls as such.
For the uninitiated, Scrolls is an expertly tended, 44-page, A4 publication, put together by Planet Of The Apes fans for Planet Of The Apes fans, that you really need to see if you’ve anything more than a passing interest in this classic...
Though I do sometimes get emotional watching films and TV shows, I usually manage to hold it together in company. I might have a lump in my throat and glassy eyes, but unless the person in the room with me is watching me rather than the telly, they’d never know.
Last night, though, I lost my composure completely during Doctor Who’s season finale, Doomsday. If you haven’t seen it and are spoilerphobic, skip the next paragraph.
As you may know, Doctor Who - the 21st century series - is produced by BBC Wales. My wife Tara and I thought it would be fun to draw up a list of some of the South Wales locations that the series has used and pay them a visit - have ourselves a Doctor Who holiday, the centrepiece of which would be a trip to the Up Close exhibition that’s currently running in Cardiff Bay’s Red Dragon Centre. So that’s...
I discovered BR549 - named after a phone number in a regular sketch from US TV show Hee Haw - in 2002, when they recorded a track with Jason Ringenberg for his All Over Creation album. After picking up the band’s Live From Robert’s EP, I fell in love with their honky-tonk charms and devoured their back catalogue. Once I’d seen them play live, I invited them into that special part of my record collection reserved for artists who’ve brought me pleasure above and beyond the...
Those were the days. Thumbing through piles of stickers in the playground, swapping my ‘gots’ for ‘needs’ - pleasure didn’t come much greater. It went on for months, too - my album getting slowly fatter as my stack of doubles, and therefore my chances of swapping with other kids, grew.
The weird thing is, though I collected all kinds of stickers at school, from...
I saw X-Men - The Last Stand on Saturday. As usual, it was freezing in the (Vue) auditorium, the air-conditioning blasting away throughout. At least, being an early screening, the audience was quiet and respectful - if you make it out to a cinema before lunchtime, chances are you’re interested in actually seeing a film.
I didn’t know much about this second X-Men sequel, other than the fact that Bryan Singer’s not involved and it’s been...
I’ve often heard it said that we’re living in the future. While getting off a train on Saturday, I suddenly had the feeling that it was true. Looking around at the mass of people walking next to this streamlined metal tube that they’d just sped into town on, some of them with mobile communications devices clamped to their ears, I imagined myself living in an age of gaslight and horses, and having my mind blown with a glimpse of this amazing science-fiction world.
Well, I was. Back in the dark days pre-2004, I was a fried-potato junkie, a slave to supermarket six packs, which I bought on pretty much a daily basis. Two bags for breakfast - yum yum. A couple more packets for lunch. Finish off the rest in the evening, just before bed.
That’s 42 bags of crisps a week; 180 bags a month. It was no way to live.
I tried to kick the habit in 2003 - a new year’s resolution that lasted about a week. It was a year later that I finally...
A pint for a nice round two quid? On a Friday night in London? I can only have been at the Borderline. Seven till eight is happy hour, and this kind of thing makes me happy.
Last night I was in town for Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell, the pairing of vocal and songwriting talent that produced last year’s exquisite Begonias, an album of mostly classic-sounding country duets. I’m a sucker for this sort of thing - crank up the heartbreak and...
As free gifts with kids’ magazines go, this is the most inspired I’ve seen for some time… not that I’m a regular buyer of such literature, you understand. But, well, I’m talking about Doctor Who Adventures here - a new fortnightly publication that was begging me to sample it. The first issue came with a free stationery set. The second, out now if you can find a copy (it seems to be very popular), has this stunning piece of merchandise...
